Maxsteele's New NE Armor Build

[maxsteele[TK]]

Well, trying to close that gap went as well as expected.  

 

Here is how I attempted to close the gap:

 

 

 

And here is the result after 8 hours:

 

 

 

 

I had some painter's tape get stuck to the arm piece, which I had to scrape off with my xacto blade.   Damage could have been much worse, but I think it's salvageable.

 

Here are a couple of different angles so you can get an idea of how the gap looks:

 

 

 

 

You can see from this last image that the location of the gap is the cover strip that is on the backside of the arm piece, closer to the elbow.  Here I am bending my arm upward and looking down at it.  You can see the slight outward curve where the finishing strip is separating from the armor piece.

 

I am not sure how I can solve this.  I can't seem to get enough force to push the forearm piece upward and the finishing strip downward making a tight seal between the two of them.

 

I also know I'm going to have the same issue with the other forearm.  This is really stalling my build.

[I'm Batman[501st]]

CA Glue, Zip Kicker and a buddy to help hold?? With CA and Zip Kicker, you only need to hold it (can do so manually with your hands) for a few seconds.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Yeah, I'll try that. I guess this krazy glue wasn't strong enough. I'll pick up some ca glue and zip kicker.

 

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[maxsteele[TK]]

For my other forearm that doesn't have the final connection glued, I'm going to glue in an inner cover strip.  I haven't used inner cover strips, and I wonder if I put one in, it will give me the surface area to give the magnets something to push against and close the gap on the outer cover strip when I glue the inner and outer strip to the two pieces for closing the forearm up.

 

Worst case scenario for this is it doesn't work and I tear out the inner cover strip, since I'm going to use e6000 for this step.

[maxsteele[TK]]

I did it!

 

I overcame my gap issue on my forearm!  I decided to stick with e6000 and employ a new method for getting the gap closed.

First, I scraped out all of the old, dried krazy glue that had accumulated.

 

Next, I filled up a small infant medicine syringe with e6000, and I squeezed the glue into the gap.  I then used a cuticle stick to push the glue in as much as I could.

 

I gave the outer area a wipe for the excess glue, then I squeezed down the cover strip and tightly pulled blue tape strips across it to hold it down.

 

The tape didn't completely compress the gap.  Next, I used the elastic bands that came with the NE armor, that I am not going to use, and I wrapped two around the forearm, pulled them as tight as I could, and tied them off.

FInally, I placed my 1/2" magnets in a row on top of the elastic, for a final compression.

 

24 hours later, and here's the result:

 

 

 

This is a very close-up shot, so it looks really messy, but from a normal viewing distance, you can't see it.  The gap is now more cosmetic than structural, and I'm happy with it.

 

Here are some shots of my finished right forearm:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see in this last shot the marks that the krazy glue made on the armor itself.  Fortunately, they only show up in bright light, and this part of the armor is on the back side of the piece up next to the elbow.  I don't think I'm going to have an issue with that at all.

Edited March 4, 2014 by maxsteele

[Toddo[TK]]

Well-done. I always have difficulty with this step, but your persistence has paid off.

[TK5144[TK]]

Those glue spots will just be weathering

 

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[maxsteele[TK]]

Thanks guys for the encouraging words!  I ordered a set of 20 3/4 in x 1/8 in n50 magnets that will arrive tomorrow.  Once I get those, I plan on moving through the gluing of my second forearm, shins, and thighs within the next week or so, then figuring out the best way to handle the shin closings.  I already have the velcro for it, but I need to see what's going to work best for me.

 

After that it will be working on smaller parts like the ammo pouch and sniper plate around the legs, getting a cloth belt and attaching those pieces, do some final trimming on the body pieces, and then working out a good snap / strap system to pull it all together.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Second forearm has been glued!  Using the combination of tape, elastic strapping, and magnets, I was able to seal the whole piece up nicely with e6000.

 

Question - when I glue the shins together, should I use an inner strip on the front part in addition to the outer cover strip?  My concern is the "hinge" nature of the shins putting them on and taking them off, and I'm wondering if having the inner strip will make them more durable to that bending action than just having an outer strip holding the two halves together in the front.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Here are some shots of my finished forearms while wearing my undershirt and gloves:

 

 

 

[maxsteele[TK]]

Gluing one half of inner strip on a shin:

 

[maxsteele[TK]]

My right shin has been sealed in the front!  I did the inside strip first.

 

 

 

 

Yes, the top shifted slightly in the clamping process.  Shame it wasn't the left one, huh?    I'm going to put the cover strip down like so:

 

 

 

 

That should help with it.  I also got the first part of the inside strip glued down on the left shin.  I'm sealing that one up tonight.

[maxsteele[TK]]

I finished joining the fronts of my shins together with the inside strip.  No outer finishing strip yet.  First, I want to show a pic of the fit:

 

 

 

 

 

Second, I sealed up the backs with tape, and seated them onto my boots.  This is what they look like before I start walking around:

 

 

 

 

 

And this is what they look like after I paced back and forth about 50 steps or so:

 

 

 

 

 

 

One time, I even had the right shin pop up above my boot.

 

So - questions:

 

1)  Do I have these shins fitted correctly?

 

2)  How do I stop the shins from rotating the way they're rotating when I walk?

 

3)  How can I prevent a shin (or both shins) from popping up above my boot?

 

I'm hoping I didn't cut too close down at the bottom where the shin wraps around the boot, making the fit too tight down there.  If I did, I'm not sure what to do about that....

[maxsteele[TK]]

I took some very preliminary fitting pics for my shoulders, biceps, and forearms.  I held the shoulders around my neck in place with strips of tape behind my neck, a strip of tape in the back on each side to hold the biceps to the shoulders, and slipped on my forearms.

 

 

 

[gazmosis[501st]]

Looking good there trooper!

[Rawgee]

Hi Ron, first off don't panic bud!

They seem fitted perfectly, no worries on the right one its minimal... If you are not happy you could always re-do it... Thanks to E-6000 I would love to see a picture a little bit further to get an overall look, and the back as well. Personally mine were doing the same thing when i fit tested them, but for some reason now they are just fine... So i would suggest to continue with the build, if you feel they are too tight in the bottom you could always make larger cover strip in the back to give you more space inside. (For your info mines are tight but not too much) If it still does that after, you could use some foam inside to prevent them to twist, usually people seem to put the foam at the top of the shin. As for the shin poping out, im not sure why they are doing this, too loose or too tight? I've seen some using a snap on both "pullers" of the boot (those little black loop in the front and back of the boot) and the other part of the snap inside the shin.

Hope that helps...

Martin

 

Edit: Looking good on the shoulders and biceps, but try to take a look in the Expert Infantry and Centurion request pictures and try to post pictures that resemble those, it will make easier for us to see how they are fitting.

Edited March 14, 2014 by Rawgee

[maxsteele[TK]]

Hi Ron, first off don't panic bud!

 

They seem fitted perfectly, no worries on the right one its minimal... If you are not happy you could always re-do it... Thanks to E-6000 I would love to see a picture a little bit further to get an overall look, and the back as well. Personally mine were doing the same thing when i fit tested them, but for some reason now they are just fine... So i would suggest to continue with the build, if you feel they are too tight in the bottom you could always make larger cover strip in the back to give you more space inside. (For your info mines are tight but not too much) If it still does that after, you could use some foam inside to prevent them to twist, usually people seem to put the foam at the top of the shin. As for the shin poping out, im not sure why they are doing this, too loose or too tight? I've seen some using a snap on both "pullers" of the boot (those little black loop in the front and back of the boot) and the other part of the snap inside the shin.

 

Hope that helps...

 

Martin

 

Edit: Looking good on the shoulders and biceps, but try to take a look in the Expert Infantry and Centurion request pictures and try to post pictures that resemble those, it will make easier for us to see how they are fitting.

 

Thanks for the tips Martin!  I know that e6000 lets us re-do gluing, I just hate to start over on something again.  I think I might do that with the right shin though so I can get the top lined up nicely.  

 

As for the shoulders/biceps/forearms pic, this was just a *very* rough fit on my body.  I had the shoulders held in place by two strips of painter's tape draped behind my neck. The biceps were held in place by one strip of tape in the back, and the forearms were just slipped on and held in place by bending my arms.  I wanted to get some type of idea how these pieces will even look on my body when finished.

[maxsteele[TK]]

I have glued the fronts of the thighs in place with an inside strip.

 

[maxsteele[TK]]

Thighs have been fully joined together with inside strips:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had some trouble with the bottom ridge of the left thigh sticking out a bit more on one side.  It just seems to be the way the ABS is molded.  I don't think it will be an issue, but it certainly isn't flush:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are two shots doing a fitting.  I don't have anything to hold them up yet, so I just fit them up as high as they will go and snapped to attention!  I believe they will be up high enough and have enough clearance at my knees.  I think they're fitting pretty well!  I hope the rest of you think that as well.     Please keep in mind that I'm squeezing my thigh pieces together to keep them held up, which is the reason for the extra gaps at the top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that these are joined, next I need to put down the outer cover strips on the front / back of the shins and thighs and place the velcro down on the back of the shins.  I may or may not do the velcro strip inside the bottom of the shin to attack to my boots at this time.  That is certainly something that can wait until later.  Then I think I'll get the sniper plate and battery pack attached.

Edited March 22, 2014 by maxsteele

[Raintrooper]

 

I had some trouble with the bottom ridge of the left thigh sticking out a bit more on one side.  It just seems to be the way the ABS is molded.  I don't think it will be an issue, but it certainly isn't flush:

 

 

Those thigh pieces look great, Ron!  So do the shins, I agree. I have the same issue with the bottom ridge of the thigh, but mine is a much bigger gap than yours.  I guess we have to embrace the wonky molds!   I know we have different kits, but it seems there are very few instances that the word ‘flush’ is used when putting these things together!  Unless it’s “Why don’t any of these pieces line up flush?!†

Edited March 22, 2014 by RainTrooper

[maxsteele[TK]]

Question time!

 

I needed to measure my waist for ordering a belt, so I'm starting to really look at the fit between my ab and kidney plates.  With the assistance of my wife, I had the pieces taped together with the current ends butted against each other, and took some side shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One thing I noticed when I did this - I had a pretty big gap between the plates and my sides.  I had my wife take photos looking down at the gap, with her finger for reference on how big the gap is.  The tip of her finger is poking my side:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This seems to be an issue.  I then bent the two pieces in to hug my body, and here you can see the overlap on the two sides:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now for questions!

 

1)  Do I go with the fit where the sides are brought into my body and I have the overlap, or the fit where the two edges are butting against each other and I have the gaps you see?

 

2)  If I go with the overlap fit, do I cut the extra off of the ab side or the kidney?  I think it's the ab side, because the kidney has that square notch that I would have to remove.  I don't think I want to do that and re-cut the square shape.

 

3)  If I'm not cutting the kidney back more, where exactly should the kidney edges come to rest so I know where to mark on the ab side and cut?

 

3)  When I order the belt, do I give the measurement of my waist without the armor on, or with the armor on?  My waist measurement without the armor on is 39".  With the armor on and no overlap, it's 43".  With the armor on and the overlap where it's forming to my body, it's 41".   Which measurement to give to a belt maker?

[gazmosis[501st]]

Where the overlap is, trace the vertical outline of the kidney onto the ab and cut the ab. You have no idea how sweet it will be to have that seam be perfect on both sides when the ab and kidney butt directly against each other. I am drooling to see this!

As for the belt, take that measurement after you have done your trimming and you have a final fit.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Thanks for the info Steve!

 

I do have a concern with how the kidney plate and the ab plate fit around me.  I am able to apply some pressure and get the sides of the ab and kidney to come into my body, but they will have some outward-pushing force.  Obviously from the photos some tape is enough to bring the pieces in, but I wonder if I should push them against my torso in order to find where that overlap and vertical line will be.

After that, I know that the two pieces will be held together by strapping and the belt.  Those two pieces will want to pull away from my body, but both the strapping and the belt will be pulling them back in to my torso.  Is that going to be some stress on the two pieces that I don't want to have, or is that just inevitable with TK armor?  Is this something that happens basically with anyone's ab and kidney pieces?

 

Also, when I cut the ab pieces shorter, I think there will be more of an outward resistance.  But again, will the strapping and belt take care of that?

[maxsteele[TK]]

I've cut the bottom parts of the cod and the butt plates.

 

For the butt plate piece, I'm not sure exactly how long this should be.  I marked two lines where I think the cut should be:

 

 

 

 

 

And I made the cut on the lower line:

 

 

 

 

 

Should I move up more and cut at the second line?  Should it be between where I cut and my second line, or is this a good length?

 

 

 

 

Here is my cod piece:

 

 

 

 

I'm good with this cut.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Small work today, but a challenge for me.  I cut off the excess on the shoulder straps.  

 

This was a puzzle for me because the straps have a very strong bend in them.  I found that using a flexible metal ruler and some clamps did the trick in flattening out the strap and giving me a straight edge to score with an xacto knife:

 

 

 

 

 

After scoring and snapping, and using some sandpaper to clean up the rough spots, here is a comparison of a trimmed shoulder strap to an untrimmed shoulder strap: